Virtues
by Storms
Summary: The Ones Left Behind: The darkest days of Carlisle and Esme’s lives were the three days of waiting when Edward went to Volterra. What they went through was heartwrenching.
1. Chapter 1: Hope

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series was created by the extremely talented Stephenie Meyer. I am but a lowly author dabbling in her realm.

Special Thanks to my breathtakingly amazing Betas Cocoa and SillyBella. Without you Virtues would have remained a hope and a prayer. I love ya girlies!!

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Hope is such a precious thing; something you need to survive in this life. It can be so strong and yet so fragile at the same time. The slightest thing can kill it, but in the same respect, it can flourish in the darkest of times. It was hope that I was hanging onto with all of my might. It was hope that I was counting on to get me through this.

Hopelessness settled upon our home and it became worse and worse as each excruciating hour dragged on. The last time we heard anything was when Alice called from the plane to Italy. It seemed like an eternity ago, but in earnest, it was only 36 hours.

Jasper receded into a dark, hollow shell after he hung up with Alice. He knew she lied to him about getting out of Volterra. He was dying slowly as his thoughts and worries ripped away at him. My heart ached when I looked into my son's pained eyes. I wanted more than anything to make him whole once again.

Emmett paced outside, going mad with his own thoughts of what he should do right now. My loving son was the warrior in our family. He needed to fight something, to do something. The waiting ate away at him, killing him. It was not in his nature to just sit and wait.

Rosalie had my most pity. She continued to destroy herself with guilt. She loved her brother, and she had never in her wildest dreams thought that her actions would lead to this. She stayed in her room, locked away from the rest of us, hating herself. I had tried a couple of times to relieve her guilt, but there was no getting through to her.

Carlisle worried me the most, though. He kept a part of himself hidden away. A part he never showed anyone else, not even Edward. It was the part that masked his weaknesses, his doubt and indecision. He always wanted to be strong for his family, for me, but no one can be strong all of the time. Everyone needs time to break apart and heal themselves. He never would.

I stood in the hall outside our bedroom, silent. I did not want him to know I was there. Through the cracked doorway, I saw Carlisle standing, staring out of the window, but I knew him well enough to know that he was not actually looking at anything. He was wrapped up in his own thoughts.

My soul-mate stood there with the most heartbreaking expression of pain etched into his face. I died standing there watching. His beautiful form collapsed in a single, breathless moment. He put one gentle hand onto the window and lifted his topaz eyes towards the sky. The words that floated on his velvet voice broke me in two…


	2. Chapter 2: Faith

Chapter Two: Faith

(Carlisle's POV)

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I could see the hopelessness looming on the faces of my family, and it killed me. They looked to me for strength and hope, but how was I supposed to give something that I didn't have? I knew it was almost a certainty, after years of living with them, that Aro, Caius, and Marcus would kill Edward. Not by choice, but because Edward would push them to it. He knew which buttons to push, and he was determined to push them. His spirit broken, shattered by hopelessness, he was a shadow of what he once was, looking for relief from the agony of her death.

It was only a matter of time.

I couldn't say it. I couldn't even think it. I dropped to my knees as despair gripped me. My chest felt ripped open, and the pain throbbed uncontrollably. I could barely breathe from the torture. I had never in my life felt something so horrible. I lifted my eyes to the heavens, desperation drowning me.

Heavenly Father, I don't know if you are listening. I don't know if you care about those such as I, but I have nowhere else to turn. I am begging you, on my hands and knees, not to let this happen. Do not take him away; don't let him waste his life. Please…

My son is a source of goodness in a world that is too overrun with evil. You know as well as I that the darkness in this world is great, but he is a source of light that fights against it. He strives to hold on to his respect for life when it would be so much easier to just let go of his humanity. Edward fought against the greatest temptation possible for our kind, when he found Bella. His love won out over the beast within him. The world needs him. My family needs him. I need him. Please…

Without him I do not know what will be left of me to give to my family. Losing him will tear me apart. Please…

He is my son in every way that matters, and I love him. He is a miracle. He is proof that you exist! How else could someone so good exist as a creature that is primordially evil? We were created to kill, but we fight against our nature. He fights even though he has experienced the easier road. Even when he ventured down the dark path of feeding on humans, Edward only killed the vilest of men, the humans who were every bit the monsters we tried not to be. Please…

No matter what it takes, bring him home safely. All I have left is a father's faith that you will see the goodness in him and decide that the world needs him more than you do. Please…

I look in my wife's eyes, and I feel myself torn to shreds. She's lost one child already. It is unfair to make her endure this torture again. It is bad enough that she had to outlive one son. Watching her go through it again is excruciating. Please...

Whatever is within me to give: my life, my soul, I forfeit it to you. Just bring me back my son. If there must be a sacrifice I will gladly take his place. I am begging you; take my life instead of his. Please…

Bring Edward home. Please…


	3. Chapter 3: Love

Carlisle, my pillar of strength, was crumbling before my eyes. I felt my long dormant heart burn with sadness. Then he began to speak of the loss of my baby and how it was unfair to me. I clutched my chest as the pain of my memories echoed through my mind, the moment my infant son stopped crying. This was too much to bear. My husband, my soul mate, who was so wracked with anguish, was still was thinking of me first.

I entered the bedroom silently as he finished his prayer and slowly made my way over to Carlisle. He looked so broken and hollow as I came up behind him. I fell to my knees and pulled my husband into my arms. He grabbed hold of me and dropped his head onto my shoulder in defeat.

"Carlisle, you can't give up. Not yet. Not when there is still hope." I searched his pained eyes as they rose to meet mine, looking for a glimmer, but there was none. He could not see that there was still hope for the future. A cold shiver ran through me as I delved deep into his eyes. He was empty, void of any hope. I had never seen him hopeless. This was not Carlisle, not the man I loved. This shell was a mockery of everything that was good about him. I was desperate to make him understand that all was not lost.

"Esme, I…" His voice was as bleak as his heart.

"No, Love, you may not see it, but it is still there." I reached up and touched his beautiful face, trying with every fiber of my being to renew what he had lost. "You are a man of faith, so have faith, Carlisle. Believe that the higher power will bring him home. Believe that he will be with Bella and Alice, guiding them to success in their rescue mission. Have faith.

Faith. Hope. Love. These are the virtues that are taught as values in this life. You cannot relinquish such precious gifts, Carlisle.

I can still see the hope that exists. The hope that will stay Edward's hand just long enough, the hope that Bella and Alice will make it to him in time, and the hope that all of them will return home.

So you, Love, hold on to your faith and I will hold to my hope, and we will see what comes together."

A light broke across Carlisle's face as my words reached him. His heart told him that there was still a chance for Edward, Bella, and Alice to come home safe. Carlisle ran his fingers along my cheek and into my hair. He warm eyes engulfed me as a small smile bloomed on his face.

"You are right, Esme. There is still a chance, even if it was just a hope and a prayer."

After a stretch of silence there in Carlisle's arms, the phone rang downstairs. The breath caught in my chest, and then the most amazing words sounded from Jasper's lips…

"Thank God you're alive!"


	4. Author's Update

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let my readers know that I've started an author's page where you can follow me as I chronicle my writing adventures into the world of publishing. It includes some of the original stories I've written, helpful sites for those of you who want to break into the publishing world as well, the advice I've received from industry professionals, and outlets that I find inspiration in. I would love it if you guys joined me over at www{dot}cmvillani{dot}blogspot{dot}com for each step of the way. See you there.

~Storms


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